May Calamawy | |
|---|---|
مي القلماوي | |
.jpg) Calamawy in 2023 | |
| Born | May El Calamawy (1986-10-28)October 28, 1986 (age 38) Bahrain |
| Alma mater | Emerson College (BA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Notable work | |
May El Calamawy[1][2] (Arabic:مي القلماوي,romanized: Mayy al-Qalamāwī,[3]Egyptian Arabic pronunciation:[ˈmˤɑjj(el)ʔælæˈmæːwi]; born October 28, 1986) is anEgyptian-Palestinian[a] actress who has worked and resided in the United States since 2015. She is known for her roles in the American television seriesRamy (2019–present) as Dena Hassan, andMoon Knight (2022) asLayla El-Faouly /Scarlet Scarab, the first Egyptian superhero in theMarvel Cinematic Universe.
Calamawy was born inBahrain[2] on October 28, 1986,[2][5][10] to an Egyptian father who worked as abanker[2] and aPalestinian-Jordanian mother.[2][5] She has an older brother.[11] Raised mostly in Bahrain, she also spent six years living betweenDoha, Qatar, andHouston, Texas, before she was twelve years old.[2][7][5] Calamawy speaks English and Arabic.[2]
She was inspired to become an actress after watching the 1992 filmDeath Becomes Her when she was a child.[5][12]
Calamawy completed high school in Bahrain,[2] and at 17 she moved toBoston, Massachusetts, to studyindustrial design,[13] because her father wanted her to.[2] She then lived inDubai for five years before moving back to theUnited States to pursue an acting career.[14]
She applied toEmerson College and told her parents, "If I get in, I'm going."[2] She was accepted and earned aB.A. in theatre studies.[7] Calamawy has also studied at theWilliam Esper Studio inNew York City.[7]
Calamawy started her career acting in short films and used to be credited with her full name, May El Calamawy.[2][1] She later changed it to May Calamawy.[15] After attending college, she participated in the New York Arab American Comedy Festival.[2]
In 2006, she made her feature film debut inThursday, directed by Thadd Williams.[16] From 2009 to 2014, she was dividing her time between Dubai andAbu Dhabi, acting in shorts and a TV pilot.[2] Her first major film role was inTobe Hooper's 2013 supernatural horror filmDjinn, the first horror film to be produced in theUnited Arab Emirates.[2]
In 2017, she had a recurring role in theNational Geographic miniseriesThe Long Road Home, and guest-starring roles inThe Brave andMadam Secretary.[15] The following year, she guest-starred in theCBScrime drama television seriesFBI.[15] In October 2018, it was announced that she would have a recurring role in theHulucomedy-drama seriesRamy, playing Ramy's sister, Dena Hassan.[15] In 2020, she voiced Ellie Malik in the video gameNBA 2K21.[17] In 2021, she appeared in the comedy filmTogether Together, withEd Helms andPatti Harrison.[18]
In 2022, Calamawy starred in theDisney+miniseriesMoon Knight, based on theMarvel Comics featuring the character ofthe same name,[18][19] where she portrayedLayla El-Faouly, an Egyptian archeologist and estranged wife of Marc Spector (portrayed byOscar Isaac),[20] who later becomes theScarlet Scarab, the first Arab character and Egyptian superhero in theMarvel Cinematic Universe.[21][22]
In July 2022, she joined the voice cast of the animated television seriesMoon Girl and Devil Dinosaur as a guest star. The show premiered onDisney Channel and Disney+ in 2023.[23] In May 2023,[24] Calamawy joined the cast ofRidley Scott'sGladiator II and it was originally announced that she would play an important character,[25] but her scenes were cut and she only appeared in an uncredited non-speakingbackground role as a companion ofDenzel Washington's character in a few scenes.[26][27]
In October 2022, Calamawy joined the cast ofDuke Johnson's upcoming thriller,The Actor,[28][29] in which she plays five different characters.[30]
Calamawy was diagnosed with the autoimmune diseasealopecia areata at the age of 22.[7] Her alopecia was incorporated into the storyline of her character Dena Hassan inRamy during the show's second season.[7][11]
Since 2015, Calamawy has resided in the United States.[11][5]
In October 2023, she signed an open letter for theArtists4Ceasefire campaign calling for a ceasefire in theGaza Strip during theGaza war.[31]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Thursday | Kelly Spencer | |
| 2007 | Temperance | Leila | Short |
| 2008 | Santa Claus in Baghdad | Hala | Short |
| 2011 | Hassad Al Möta | Tunnel Zombie | Short |
| Paradise Falls | Jenny | Short | |
| 2012 | A Genie Called Gin | Lucy | Short |
| 2013 | Djinn | Aisha | |
| Moi aussi je t'aime | Short | ||
| 2017 | Passerby | Saba | Short |
| 2019 | The Bed | Woman | Short |
| Saeed | Sue | Short | |
| 1 Out of 30 | Fatimah | Short | |
| 2021 | Together Together | Carly | |
| Meet Cute | Girl | Short | |
| 2024 | Gladiator II | Macrinus's companion | Uncreditedcameo appearance; role reduced due todeleted scenes[26][32] |
| 2025 | The Actor | Post-Production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Checking In | Raya | Episode: "Sneak Peek" |
| 2017 | Madam Secretary | Mona Alsnany | Episode: "Off The Record" |
| The Brave | Mina Bayoud | Episode: "It's All Personal" | |
| The Long Road Home | Faiza | National Geographic miniseries | |
| BKPI | Ameena | Episode: "Mister Flasher" | |
| 2018 | FBI | Nita Kayali | Episode: "Green Birds" |
| 2019–present | Ramy | Dena Hassan | Main role |
| 2022 | Moon Knight | Layla El-Faouly /Scarlet Scarab | Main role |
| Marvel Studios: Assembled | Herself | Episode: "Assembled: The Making ofMoon Knight" | |
| 2023 | Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur | Fawzia (voice) | Episode: "Goodnight, Moon Girl" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | NBA 2K21 | Ellie Malik | Voice role |
In Hollywood, Egyptian-Palestinian actress May Calamawy even shows off her curls in Marvel's latest series, "Moon Knight"
While many of the leading roles were straight offers, Scott wanted to do a similar search he did for the Mescal part for the role that Calamawy ultimately landed. Given the importance of the character to the story, Scott wanted a thorough search, and following multiple auditions Calamawy landed the part.
I'm about to head to Budapest for a month with an amazing cast to work on a movie called The Actor directed by the talented Duke Johnson. I'm so excited about this, I couldn't have wished for a better end to the year!
When Calamawy was originally cast (long before 7 October 2023) it was reported that she'd have an "important" or leading role. Now it seems like she has been all but cut from the movie – relegated to a tiny non-speaking background part.
